To End All Wars

by Kyle Thompson

The morning was not very bright. Rain poured down from the dismally gray sky, not aiding the morale of the troops. All was quiet in the small town as they marched through the gates.

Eric was cold and afraid as he passed through the large stony structure, but there was no turning back now. He wondered if he would ever see the day where he would pass beneath that gate again, its open passage beckoning him home. He looked at the giant stylized angel staring down at him from the top of the gate. The rain slowly falling down its face looked like tears. A few steps more and the sculpture was hidden from view.

The rain tinkled against Eric’s armor. He wore a breast plate that fit snug against him. He hoped it would be enough to protect him from what was to come. His helmet guarded his nose and skull, but it was a little too tight and uncomfortable. Still, it was a helmet.

The rest of the soldiers marched along slowly through the pouring rain. About twenty minutes from the town, the order came back that the pace was to quicken. Eric quickly found his step with the soldiers around him, taking long, firm strides. He was trying to hide his fear of what was to come.

Eric understood that this was his duty. He had to protect the garrison. Not just that, but he couldn’t allow them to push through and destroy his home and take his family as slaves as he so often heard they did.

The rain began pounding harder. Time seemed to pass by without Eric noticing. The landscape was fairly flat and the going was not very difficult. The plains rolled out before him, seeming to go on into eternity. Occasionally, a tree broke the perfect line of the horizon where the heavens met the world. Eric knew that at his current pace, another few miles would bring the very tips of the mountains into view.

Another call from the front came back. This time it was for the sappers to move forward to scan the field for traps. A rumor came down the ranks as well that there was a body lying about one hundred yards out. This seemed possible since it was commonly known that they liked to entice victims in by placing the dead near traps. The march was brought to a full halt as the sappers were brought forward.

The rain continued to fall as the sappers went to work flagging the traps that they found. In the end, it was decided that they should all march around the marked off area. The body that had been spotted was carefully recovered and put on a wagon bringing up the rear. All this had taken about thirty minutes.

They traveled for many miles and were glad that no one had been lost to the deadly pits that were frequently dug by them. The rain never ceased.

Eric began to realize how indifferent he felt. Instead, he began to focus his mind. He knew that he would need all his wits about him from what he had heard about them. They were terrible to behold and vicious fighters. He still felt the empty pit in his stomach. Everyone was quiet. There was no talking at all.

Finally, almost mercifully, the call came back to prepare for battle. Swords came out of their scabbards with a resonating metallic ring. Bows came off men’s backs and arrows were readied. Horses at the front began to whinny loudly as if they knew what was to come.

Eric tested the weight of his sword in his hands. He was glad to have it there. It reminded him that he had strength and life still in his body. Another call came from the front to form ranks and keep them tight. This was all done in a neat, but hurried fashion.

Eric was at the front of the rank of soldiers. He glanced over to the man on his left. The man had a short black beard. The man looked grim and focused, much like Eric felt.

The rain began to fall down harder and the noise it made when striking their armor sounded like a symphony of tiny bells tinkling away. The attention of the soldiers was called by Lord Fillip, riding tall and strong atop a brilliant white stallion. The stallion was covered in barding.

Lord Fillip directed the horse back and forth, up and down the lines. All the while he was shouting, “We are the last hope! Make your example a shining one! Fight with vigor and valor! Fight for glory! Fight for honor! Fight for life! Fight for your families, but most importantly, fight for victory! Let the blood of mankind’s enemies run freely on these fields today and like the rain, cleanse the earth of the evil that has befallen it! What are we here for?”

Eric responded in sync with the rest of the soldiers, “War!”

The word echoed across the vast plains.

Lord Fillip continued, “Send them back to the pits from which they spawned! Destroy this scourge! May your swords strike true!”

Eric and the rest of his soldiers cheered at this. Eric was no longer nervous. He was sure he could take on a hundred of them. Across the plains, Eric could not see them, but he could hear them. Their war drums echoed across the field. Roars and growls came through the rain and darkness.

“Lights!” Lord Fillip called.

Eric watched in awe as mages from their rear flank cast huge balls of heatless flame out over the field. The lights landed between the two armies, illuminating the field and allowing Eric to see their silhouettes.

“Ready… Archers!”

Hundreds of arrows flew from more soldiers at the rear flank. The arrows whistled across the field and screams of pain were heard from them. After the volley, there was a rustle from the rear ranks as the archers dropped their bows in favor of melee weapons for the chaos that was about to ensue.

Eric recalled his training. He would use his shield to deflect attacks from the enemy and thrust and stab. The mages would provide ranged support for the charge until the Eric and his fellows were mixed in with them.

Suddenly, a shout in a strange tongue came echoing across the field and the ground began to shake as they started their charge. Lord Fillip did not hesitate to shout for Eric and the rest of the soldiers to charge.

Eric ran as hard and as fast as he could, his shield in a defensive position and his sword arm slightly retracted, ready to strike. Fireballs, these ones deadly, flew over his head and crashed into the ranks of the oncoming charge, causing explosions. There was only one such volley.

The last second before the two forces met seemed like an eternity to Eric. Everything seemed to slow down as he caught his first real glimpse of them. Each one was different. Some had heads like wolves while others looked more like bulls. Some were hairless while others were covered in it. They held makeshift weapons which they used with deadly efficiency.

Finally, the two forces met and all hell broke loose. Eric felt something hit his shield and he thrust his sword out. He slaughtered a beast with four arms and a reptilian head.

Eric pushed onward. It all seemed to last hours. The cries of man and beast echoed across the field. Roars of pain and victory could be heard. Eric thrust repeatedly with his sword. He knew that every moment he survived; he survived because of luck, not skill. The battlefield was far too chaotic to accommodate any real skill with a blade, just the deadly efficiency of thrusting. Eric repeated this motion several times, deflecting any oncoming blows with his shield. Suddenly, an exceptionally loud roar sounded from far above Eric.

“Dragon!” Eric heard someone yell.

The ground shook as the colossal beast landed on the ground. Another loud roar broke across the battlefield, this one accompanied by something more. Eric felt the temperature rise as flames poured from the dragon’s mouth and across the battlefield. Thunder split the sky and the rain came down harder than before. Even by the light of the dragon’s fire and the strange heatless magical fire from the mages, Eric was having difficulty seeing anything. Still, he knew where the dragon was.

Eric thrust his sword into the beast that had just fallen to over its own comrade and moved towards the dragon. Eric knew that he would be riding the dragon.

As Eric charged towards the dragon, another blast of fire was let loose over the battlefield and men screamed. Eric could tell that he was on closing on the right flank of the dragon. He pressed on, but he almost tripped on a body that lay in the field. Eric chanced a quick glance and saw that it was Lord Fillip and his white stallion. A javelin protruded from Lord Fillip’s side and the horse had been stabbed several times. Eric almost stopped at the sight, but knew that killing him, the traitor to all man kind was more important.

Eric reached the side of the dragon and exchanged his sword for a knife that was attached to his belt. He jabbed this in between the thick scales of the dragon’s hide and hoisted himself up. Quickly, Eric clambered his way atop the dragon and turned to look towards its head. There he sat, casting spells down at Eric’s fellow soldiers. Eric drew his sword from its scabbard again and cast the knife aside. Eric charged down the back of the dragon.

Just as Eric was about to strike, he turned around. He was dressed in a suit of steel armor adorned with skulls and spikes. His helmet blocked a view of his face. Eric put his shield in front of his body and dove on top of him. Both of them fell to the ground. As they did, Eric could hear the whoosh of magic as the mages began to bombard the dragon with spells. The dragon let loose an ear-splitting roar as it died.

Forcing this from his mind, Eric stood up and picked his sword up off the ground. His shield was stuck on a spike that protruded from the armor of the dragon rider. It was then that Eric realized he was bleeding because the spike had penetrated the shield and cut open his shoulder. Eric ignored the pain.

“Traitor!” Eric screamed at the top of his lungs as he charged the dragon rider.

The dragon rider easily parried every single one of Eric’s strikes. It was then that Eric realized that he and the armor-clad dragon rider were separate from the rest of the battle.

Eric barely blocked the dragon rider’s counterstrike. He decided to try and doge the dragon rider’s blows instead of blocking them as his arms quivered from each strike that his adversary made. The dragon rider swung and swung again, his heavy sword unable to shift directions rapidly. Still, Eric began to tire after he dodged over and over again. Eric took a few steps backward, just out of range of the dragon rider’s blade. As the dragon rider moved to follow, Eric dropped low and charged back in, his sword thrusting up and into the dragon rider’s abdomen.

At first, Eric did not realize his own wound. The dragon rider had managed to bring up his own blade into Eric’s abdomen. The two fell to the ground together, each still holding the hilt of his respective hilt. Eric glared at the dragon rider.

“I h-have d-d-done my… d-duty,” Eric said, choking his words around the warm blood that was now leaving his body, “t-t-traitor.”

The dragon rider said nothing, but his breath came heavily. Eric knew that he had slain the man. The battle was still being waged, but the war was over. Eric had killed the evil man who had let these creatures out of their prisons beneath the earth. Now, the scars of the earth could heal and no more nightmares would be able to break through.

Eric let the image of the city gates come to his mind. He would be passing through them one last time when this was all over. He would be returning a hero. Suddenly, it did not seem so bad that he would not be alive to see it. He was just happy to have lived his life and taken risks. He was happy to have conquered evil and ended the madness of war.

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